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Day: February 2, 2023

First responders reunited with Uvalde survivor

Posted on by Ashley

EMS team, trauma doctor greet 10-year-old patient 

Besides meeting some of her blood donors, Uvalde shooting survivor Mayah Zamora and her parents also were reunited with some of her first responders at the fifth anniversary of the Heroes in Arms whole-blood program recently. 

The event and subsequent meetings were sponsored by South Texas Blood & Tissue, which collects specially screened type O-positive blood for use by the region’s first responders and trauma centers. 

Among those who were reunited with Mayah were the nurse and medic who treated her on a helicopter flight from Uvalde Memorial Hospital to University Hospital. 

Using its helipad – the first of its kind for a blood center in the United States – South Texas Blood & Tissue provided 10 units of O-negative blood and 15 units of the emergency-use type O-positive blood to the air medical helicopters deployed to the scene that day, said Adrienne Mendoza, Chief Operating Officer, South Texas Blood & Tissue.

Mayah received transfusions of both during her initial treatment, units delivered to Uvalde Memorial and to the helicopter team from South Texas Blood & Tissue. 

“Mayah, you made us work,” Wayne Winans, with Air Evac Lifeteam/Methodist Air Care, said. “It was a busy, busy 30 minutes. It’s so incredible to see you here today.” 

Dr. Ronald M. Stewart, a surgeon at University Health’s Level I trauma center and Chair of the Department of Surgery at UT Health San Antonio, was one her physicians at University Hospital. He said treating the 10-year-old, who spent 66 days at University Hospital following the shooting at Robb Elementary, was priceless. 

“Literally, it’s professionally what we live to do,” he said. “It’s worth more than I can describe.”

Are you an O-positive donor who’d like to join Heroes in Arms? Contact us today at 210-731-5590  to find out if you are eligible.   

Cooperation makes lifesaving program possible

Posted on by Ashley

Groundbreaking system provides 22-county safety net for trauma victims

The whole-blood transfusion system saving trauma victims’ lives across South Texas is the product of cooperation among a diverse range of organizations. 

Launched five years ago and patterned after a similar program in the U.S. Army, the program provides specially screened type O-positive blood to emergency responders to use in the field, on the way to the hospital and in the city’s two Level I trauma centers. The blood can be transfused into any patient. 

The program received initial funding by the San Antonio Medical Foundation, and it was launched through an agreement among South Texas Blood & Tissue; the South Texas Regional Advisory Council, which coordinates emergency care in 22 counties; University Health System; the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research; UT Health Science Center-San Antonio; and major medical helicopter services. 

“Our staff at South Texas Blood & Tissue, and our medical community partners and EMS groups, all work in such close collaboration that there’s no other place in this entire country or maybe the world where they’re saving trauma victims like this,” said Adrienne Mendoza, Chief Operating Officer, South Texas Blood & Tissue.

Dr. Ronald M. Stewart, a surgeon at University Health’s Level I trauma center and Chair of the Department of Surgery at UT Health San Antonio, agreed.

“If you don’t remember anything else said here, remember this: Cooperation and communication saves lives,” he said. “This program is a prime example of that.” 

Military, civilian research 

The concept of whole-blood transfusion was pioneered in South Texas by Dr. Donald Jenkins, who worked on a similar program for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and a pilot program at the Mayo Clinic before coming to University Health System and UT Health San Antonio. 

In the last five years, the program has expanded to San Antonio Fire Department units, and hospitals and EMS services throughout the 22-county region. 

“In my 22 years in the field, this is by far the most significant development in pre-hospital care,” said Bill Bullock, EMS Lieutenant and Medic Officer with the San Antonio Fire Department. 

Heroes in Arms 

The Heroes in Arms program at South Texas Blood & Tissue reaches out to potential donors and provides the specially screened whole blood. A combination of greater demand and new screening has allowed South Texas Blood & Tissue to open the program to certain female donors. 

A study published in the Annals of Surgery journal last year showed the value of the whole blood transfusion program, which has attracted interest from emergency providers across the nation. It showed that giving trauma patients whole blood – rather than one of the blood’s components alone – reduces mortality rates by 48%. 

Are you an O-positive donor who’d like to join Heroes in Arms? Contact us today at 210-731-5590  to find out if you are eligible.  

First female donors join Heroes in Arms program

Posted on by Ashley

Heart from the start

The first two women to donate in the newly rebranded Heroes in Arms  program share a deep commitment to the lifesaving program. 

Antoinette Brumfield was the first Heroes in Arms donor, edging out Tina Boldt’s donation by just a few minutes. Antoinette is married to George Brumfield, Supervisor, Tele and Digital Recruitment and Training with South Texas Blood & Tissue. Boldt is the Office Manager of the BioBridge Global executive suite.  

Heroes in Arms (formerly Brothers in Arms) provides low-titer type O-positive whole blood for use in trauma emergencies in the field and at San Antonio’s two Level I trauma centers. The program marked its fifth birthday and its expansion to eligible women on Saturday. 

Adrienne Mendoza, Chief Operating Officer, South Texas Blood & Tissue, expressed appreciation for the donors coming forward.

“Of course we need O-positive and O-negative donors,” she said. “But we also need AB and B and A donors. “We need donors from all walks of life, every demographic.”

A step forward

“I think it’s so amazing that we can save lives and have blood available in helicopters and ambulances,” Boldt said. “To be a part of that is cutting-edge.”  

The program initially used only donations by men, since men naturally have low levels of certain antibodies in their bloodstream. But with population growth and the demand for emergency-use blood growing, the program has been expanded to female donors who meet the general eligibility requirements and have never been pregnant.

“I am O-positive, but I didn’t know if I would qualify,” Boldt said. “So when I found out, I was super super-jazzed.”  

Brumfield said she felt her donation was only the beginning.  

“I feel like I have a lot to do once I get out of here to spread the word about this program,” she said. “It was a chance to help the community and hopefully inspire others to donate.”  

Are you an O-positive donor who’d like to join Heroes in Arms? Contact us today at 210-731-5590  to find out if you are eligible.  

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